This week we learned about patents. We researched patents of bathtubs in Google Patent and we can’t believe how many different patents we found involving bathtubs. There were handles, baby protection, mats for not being able to slip, and seats in case you need one in the bathtub. These patents helped us get more ideas about re-creating a safe bath tub for the elderly. We know we can’t take the ides but we can change it up a little and be more creative about it.

We made another call for another interviewer. Her name was Joyce Smith, a friend of our teacher Ms. Meisner. She gave us great information that could help us start planning ideas of how our safe bathtub is going to work. She talked about her incident with her bench that she uses to help her get out of the bathtub and that made us think maybe handles or a little door on the bathtub can help the elderly or older people get out of the bathtub easier. Also, she mentioned that her income won’t be able to pay a safe bathtub especially if it has many features that helps the elderly have a safe “shower time”. I thought that maybe we could get the city involved and perhaps the insurance they have could help pay the bathtub if it is really necessary for them. That would a great idea I believe because some people can’t afford it but they really need it. Another thing she talked about was curtains. Ms. Smith said that sometimes curtains are the reason why you slip or fall when trying to get out of the bathtub. We really are not sure what ideas we can come up with because Mr. Jo mentioned that curtains are necessary but the only problem is cleaning them because of mold growing.

Credit: Nelly Contreras

What we want to accomplish right now is have different ideas that could be features in the safe bathtub that we want to create. We want to have sections of the bathtub that are really necessary not just to have for accessories. The week hasn’t ending so there is still much more that we need to learn about special features that we might use and things that are necessary for bathtubs.